


Cirrus Business

by TheRedHero11037



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: (and dragon cloud au lmao), Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Summoner AU, there will be clack later but not now
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-03
Updated: 2016-04-18
Packaged: 2018-05-30 23:26:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6446458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheRedHero11037/pseuds/TheRedHero11037
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zack Fair is a brand-new Summoner, dreaming of becoming a powerful Summoner General. Step one on the path: raising his brand new familiar.</p>
<p>(based on tinyjing's dragon Cloud au)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tinyjing](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=tinyjing).



“To be a Summoner is to command beasts with honor and respect. To be a Summoner is to understand the power they hold and know them as your ally. The power of the Summoner is the power of many, thus the Summoner’s Creed: _in consortium, virtutis._ In partnership, power.”

Zack Fair had memorized this passage of the Summoner’s Handbook long ago. It kept him going through the trials of the Academy of Magic and gave him strength when he felt like he would have to give up on his dream of being a Summoner General. Magic had never come easy to him, but after years of study, the day had finally come for him to take the Summoners’ Exam. If Zack could pass this, he would be miles closer to his dream. If not… Well, he was never one to look at the negative side of things.

Now, Zack sat in the seats of the Auditorium of Summoners, waiting for his name to be called for the exam. He passed the time daydreaming about his upcoming life as a Summoner. Which division would he become a part of? There may only have been three, but it would still be a hard choice. The Discoverers, Holders of Familiarity, and the Vessels all had their draws.

The Discoverers were focused on bonding with as many beasts as possible. It was headed by Genesis Rhapsodos, Summoner General of Discovery. It was said Genesis had given up his abilities of summoning a familiar in order to learn to summon ancient gods. On the other side of the spectrum was the Holders of Familiarity, headed by Sephiroth Saphirr, Summoner General of Familiarity. Familiarity focused on creating the strongest bonds possible with your familiar. Sephiroth was famed for having three incredibly powerful familiars. Three! Some Summoners couldn’t even summon one. Finally, there were the Vessels. Angeal Hewley, Summoner General of Embodiment, led this one. This was a rare way of summoning that allowed the Summoner to use the abilities of a beast by allowing the creature to use your body to unleash its power. A daunting task, to be sure, but Angeal’s pure power when fused with his familiar was awe-inspiring.

“Fair, Zackariah Reginald.” His name was spoken by a woman on the stage who was sending people to the exam rooms. Finally!! Zack raced down the stairs of the Auditorium and half jumped onto the stage for the woman to see.

“I’m here!” He cried. “Which way?”

The woman pointed at a door with her pen. “You’ll be in Viewing Room 3. Your examiner is waiting.”

Zack was off and running in two seconds, calling “thank you, ma’am!” behind him. This was it, the moment of truth. He turned down the hallway and into Viewing Room 3.


	2. Chapter 2

Viewing Room 3 was a medium-large room with plain white walls and a concrete floor. The small windows on the western wall were covered with shades, leaving only the fluorescent lights to keep the room bright. In the center of the room was a single chair facing the door, which Zack sat down in immediately. He waited for a few moments, going over all the possibilities of the exam in his head.

The door opened with a click, and a familiar muscular man with black hair to his shoulders and the hint of a beard entered. Zack’s mouth dropped open as he realized who his examiner was. Summoner General Angeal Hewley was taking valuable time out of his day to come and evaluate him!

“Mr. Fair?” Angeal asked. He sounded so casual! Zack nodded dumbly. Angeal held out his hand to shake. “I’m Angeal Hewley, but by the look on your face, I assume you already knew that.” Again, all Zack could do was nod. Angeal chuckled. “There’s really no need to be so starstruck. You have an exam to focus on!”

“Right!” Zack sprung out of the chair. “Yes! We should start!”

“And start we shall.” Angeal paced a circle around Zack. “The key ability of a Summoner is to summon. It’s in the name, and it’s what you’re being evaluated on. If you can’t summon anything, then you’re going to have to keep studying. Understood?”

“Yes sir!”

“Good. Let’s see you get to it, then.” Angeal sat in the chair. “I want you to summon your familiar for me.”

Zack tilted his head. “What?”

“Your familiar, if you please.”

Zack’s eyes went wide. He didn’t have a familiar, and he’d only just figured out how to summon small objects. “I, um…” He couldn’t panic. Not now, not in front of a Summoner General. He swore mentally and put on an enormous fake smile. “Of course!”

Angeal watched him expectantly. Zack had to try hard to keep from flinching under that brown gaze. He assured himself it would be fine. All he had to do was try. He was going to summon this familiar and become an official Summoner and he was not going to panic because he could do this.

Zack spread his arms wide, then brought them in front of him and pointed his palms at the ground the way he would in any basic summoning spell. Now, he had to picture what he wanted. Zack had no idea what his familiar looked like to picture it. He grit his teeth and closed his eyes. What did he want his familiar to look like? Something strong and fierce. Zack pictured a dragon. Something furry to pet. A dragon with a soft mane or something? A manageable size and a cute personality... Yes! Zack had it! Probably!

Zack squeezed his eyes tighter and focused hard on the image of the familiar he had thought up. He had to do this. He had to do this. Zack poured every little bit of his heart into hoping and praying to summon his familiar. He felt his hands begin to tingle with magic flowing through them, and the room brightened around him. He was doing it!

The flow of magic held steady for a minute or two before rapidly beginning to fade. Zack couldn’t be losing it already, could he? He dared to open one eye and saw a single, pale egg sitting in the embers of his spell. Zack scooped it up with despair. This couldn’t be it. He looked up at Angeal, begging for answers with his eyes, but the man only smiled.

“Well done,” Angeal praised after a long silence. “Congratulations on summoning your familiar for the first time.”

Zack stared at the egg in his hands. “This is my familiar?” 

Angeal nodded. “The beginning of it, yes. Since you’ve summoned it, you’ve passed the exam.” He held out a hand for Zack to shake. “Welcome in.”

Zack could only blink at the hand, still cradling the egg. “I… Where do I…?” he stammered, looking for a safe place to put it. “You can’t break a familiar egg, can you?”

“No, you can’t,” Angeal assured him. “It’ll be safe if you shake my hand.”

Zack tucked the egg into the crook of his shoulder and shook Angeal’s hand quickly before going back to holding it with two hands. He went back to gazing at his familiar-to-be, absentmindedly blurting out, “how do I take care of this thing?”

“For now, just keep the egg safe and warm. You’ll get your Summoner’s Certificate in the mail, and that will come with an easy guide on how to care for it once it hatches.”

“Thank you.” Zack looked up and finally smiled.

“You’re very welcome.” Angeal began heading out of the room, pausing only to pat Zack on the shoulder. “You should head home and make a nice little nest for that egg.”

“I will!” Zack cried, and dashed out the door, egg held tight to his chest. He did it!


	3. Chapter 3

When Zack made it back to his room in the Academy dorms, a realization hit him like a waterfall. He looked down at his little egg with despair. “Oh crap,” he whimpered, “how am I supposed to take care of you?”

It wasn’t that they had never been taught the process of hatching and caring for a new familiar, it was more that the class had been at 8:30 in the morning. That time was usually the time Zack set aside for falling asleep in a bowl of cereal. Why didn’t they teach it at a time when people would be more awake! This was essential to the survival of a small creature!

Suddenly panicked, Zack set the egg gently on his bed and wrapped it in a sweater his mom had sent him. It was a good enough nest for the egg. Zack felt okay about letting it sit there as he tore through the drawers of his desk. He began a frenzied search for any information that might be even slightly relevant to the care and keeping of a familiar, and swore as he found only a single pamphlet about the creation of familiars.

He sat back down on the bed slowly and picked the egg back up. “Sorry, little guy,” he whispered. “I promise I’ll figure out what to do soon.” Zack stroked the smooth shell and a wave of warmth nearly knocked him flat on his back. His fingers tingled with the reassurance that he’d figure out what to do.

Zack blinked down at the egg in his lap. “Did you do that?” he asked, in awe at the power of his baby familiar. The egg sat silent, but Zack knew deep down that nothing else could have done that to him. He sighed and gazed at the pictures across his wall. 

Newspaper clippings about the Summoner Generals mingled with pictures of his friends and beautiful tableaus of that pretty blond bard that had performed in the theatre troupe last month. Zack was a little embarrassed to put him up with the most important things in his life, but the actor was easy on the eyes and had a voice like honey. Zack smiled at the memory. “One day, I’ve gotta show him to you,” he whispered to the egg. “He made even the history play interesting, I swear!”

A few hours into his daydreaming with his egg in his lap, a knock came at the door to Zack’s room. Zack called a distracted greeting, attention focused on his egg. However, the visitor wasn’t content to let Zack wallow in his thoughts. Soft hands placed themselves over his eyes, and a cheerful voice called, “Guess who!”

Zack perked up immediately. “Aerith!” he cried, spinning around to see his best friend and platonic soulmate. 

Aerith gave him a wide smile and clapped her hands together. “I heard you passed the Summoner’s Exam! Congratulations!”

Zack felt a glow of pride. “Thank you, thank you.” He folded in half in a mock-bow, careful not to press too hard on the egg in his lap. “It was crazy. Did you know one of the Summoner Generals was there? I got to meet Angeal freakin’ Hewley!”

“Really?” Aerith’s eyes were wide. “I wouldn’t think they would have the time to do that.” She sat down next to Zack on the bed. “You have to tell me everything!”

“Well, they called my name and I went into this empty room, and then Angeal came in and he was the one testing me.” Zack held up a hand to stop Aerith from cutting in on his story. “I swear it’s true. He made me summon a familiar egg, see?” Zack held up the egg with pride.

Aerith gazed at it. “That’s quite the story.”

“I know.” Zack set the egg back on his lap. “And now, my best friend’s here to help me figure out how to take care of this egg. And the thing that hatches from it.”

“Me?” Aerith pointed at herself, eyebrows quirked in confusion. “But I’m not going to be a summoner.”

“Yeah, but you pay attention in class,” Zack held the egg up under his chin. “Come on, the fate of my li’l baby familiar depends on it!”

Aerith rolled her eyes and flopped on her back. “Zack, you’re insufferable, but I can’t refuse a cry for help like that.” Aerith looked up at the egg. “Well, you’re keeping it safe and warm. That’s a good thing.”

Zack nodded. “That’s what Angeal said to do.”

“It’s pretty much all you can do with an egg.” Aerith sized it up. “But once it hatches, it’s gonna need clothes and food and a bed. You know what that means?”

“You’re dragging me shopping?” Zack asked, voice devoid of enthusiasm.

Aerith nodded. “It’s time for a shopping spree.”


End file.
